Fight or Flight Reflex
by Jenna Cassie Herdz
Summary: Captain Gree is back and she's out for blood, specifically Captain Aran Dravyk and another mutual friend of theirs: Captain Quanda Temple
1. Warning

**A/N:** welcome to my Privateers fanfic! you have to be a Die Hard Karl Urban fan to have looked for and _found_ this one. the link to the pilot and only episode of this series is on my front page if you've heard of this but couldn't find it anywhere, i suggest you watch it before you read this. the fact that this series never made it really saddens me, cuz its pretty cool, even if it is kinda corny. you'll see. well, with that said, i DO NOT own The Privateers or Karl Urban. Quanda Temple is mine, but nothing else. enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Warning**_

"Are you kidding me?"

"I'm afraid not."

"But that's _my_ money! I thought this was all sorted out already! What the hell's goin' on?"

"Quanda Temple."

The woman leaning on the table in front of the man sitting there denying her money for a job she'd just run slowly stood tall at the sound of the deep, familiar voice, placing a fist on her hip. She turned slowly, one hand gliding on the surface of the table until it slid off and fell to her side as she faced him completely, seeing him walking toward her.

"How many times have I told you, it's _Captain_ Quanda Temple to you, Dravyk," she shot back, her icy blue eyes cold with irritation as he stopped in front of her with a smirk. "What brings _you_ here to ruin my day?"

"You're not the only one that's had their day ruined," Aran assured her, his smirk dropping as he glanced to the man behind her before quickly gripping her arm and pulling her away from the table.

"Wait a minute!" she snapped, struggling against his grip. "I haven't gotten my money yet! What the hell are you-?"

"You're not getting your money today, Quanda," he cut in, not letting her go or looking away from the door he'd come through. "_Nobody's_ getting their money today."

"What the hell are you talkin' about, Aran?" she snapped again as she was led out of the bank. "I've got a ship to repair and mouths to feed! I need that money!"

"You'll have to find it somewhere else," he shot back and stopped outside to pull her in front of him, his green-hazel eyes boring into her icy blues. "Gree's back."

Quanda instantly let out a poorly hidden snicker as she flipped her purple dyed ponytail from her shoulder to let it hang down her back and chuckled, "Nice try. Gree's dead and _you_ of all people should know that. Who came up with a lie like that, huh?"

"You wanna go challenge Lana on it? Be my guest," Aran snapped back, shoving Quanda away by her arm as her eyes shot wide.

"Lana said so?"

"If it was a lie, I doubt she'd announce it in a bar full of privateers," he theorized, sarcastically. "It's the truth. I just came back from a sweep and spotted a ship not too far from here and heading here fast."

"You don't know if it's Gree," Quanda argued. "You can't _possibly_ know that for sure!"

"I _know_," he insisted. "Of all people, _I_ would know."

"And what do your people have to say about this, huh?" Quanda wondered, still skeptical as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm sure Roxxi had something to say about it, right? And Dogen and Parrot? What'd _they_ say?"

"What does it matter what they said?" Aran frowned with a shrug.

"I trust _them_ more than a trust _you_, Dravyk," she shot back.

"I thought we'd put that behind us," Aran almost groaned.

"Oh, _I_ haven't, Aran," she snapped. "And I won't for a while."

"Well, either way, it has nothing to do with what's going on _now_," he replied, trying to stay on topic. "Gree's coming back, and we all have to make a decision because we were _all_ there."

"And what decision is _that_?" she asked, sarcastically.

"Whether we stay here or turn tail and run," Aran replied, and Quanda lifted a brow in wonder.

"_We_?" she echoed. "You mean _we_ as in, the collective privateer community, or we as in, your crew and mine? I don't think I need to remind you of what happened last time your crew and mine went on a mission together."

"I mean _we_ as in the individual captains and crews," Aran shot back, ignoring her change of subject again. "I came to warn you so you can figure out what you wanna do on your own."

"How thoughtful of you," Quanda muttered, looking away and the shimmer of her blue make up under her right eye caught Aran's attention for a split second as she turned her face away from his gaze. They stood in silence for a moment before she looked back at him and nodded, "What're _you_ gonna do?"

Aran glanced around, tucking his thumbs into his belt where his sword hung on his hip. He gave a sigh through his nose, thinking silently as he glanced down and kicked some dirt on the street before looking back at her and shrugging. If he was being completely honest, he hadn't thought about it. He hadn't even asked his crew about whether or not they should get out of dodge or stay put. Staying put, meant a fight for sure, he knew it.

"I dunno," he finally replied. "Gotta talk to my crew."

"If I were _you_, Aran, I'd get outta here as fast as the Rapier can take you," Quanda advised, lowering her arms to shove her hands in her pockets. "She'll have a grudge on all the privateers, but her _biggest_ grudge is gonna be against _you_, I guarantee it."

"Don't remind me," Aran grumbled, looking away from her again. Roxxi had been the first to mention something else along those lines, while Dogen had given him a significant look without saying much of anything. He didn't need to. Aran knew what he was thinking through those looks.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going," Quanda sighed, looking around the street as Aran looked back at her. "My crew won't stand for stickin' around, and I have to agree with them. Gree is one pirate I don't wanna get tangled up with, _especially_ after we 'killed' her. 'Hell hath no fury' and all that."

"Yeah, well, like I said, I gotta talk to my crew," Aran excused. "They may wanna take it on. Won't know till I ask 'em."

"Good luck with that," Quanda chuckled as she started to turn and head down the street, but she stopped and turned back to step directly in front of him, making him frown at her. "In case we don't see each other again, you should know that I always thought you were too good-looking for this profession. You might wanna look to that."

With that, she walked down the street as Aran cocked an eyebrow at her back, watching her walk away. He guessed she was right. They may _never_ see each other again.

* * *

_Later…_

"Alright," Aran sighed as he and his crew sat in the bar they'd been in when Lana had told them Gree was back. "All in favor of leaving…?"

Parrot and Roxxi raised their hands.

"All in favor of staying…?"

No one raised their hands, making Aran look to Dogen with a blank stare.

"Dogen, you have to go one way or another," he advised.

"I go where the rest of the crew goes," Dogen replied.

"Of course," Aran sighed.

"How did Captain Temple take the news when you told her Gree was alive?" Roxxi smirked in amusement, sitting back in her chair.

"To be expected," he shrugged. "She didn't believe it. And I'm still not sure she did after we parted ways."

"She gonna take off too?" Parrot wondered taking a drink from the glass in front of him.

"Not sure," Aran replied, taking a seat next to Dogen, leaning back on the wall behind him. "We can't worry about her, anyway. We have to worry about our own skins."

"So…are _we_ leaving?" Roxxi wondered if she'd missed the decision.

"Well, it seems we're two _for_ leaving and two undecided," Aran reported, flicking a crumb off the table.

"What the hell are _you_ being indecisive for?" Roxxi asked. "You don't wanna be around when Gree gets here to kill us, do you?"

"No, but I don't wanna sail out into space and _meet_ her half-way, do _you_?" Aran shot back irritably.

"Whoa, what's with _you_?" Parrot frowned at the captain's mood as Aran slumped back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and gazing around the bar.

"He's still got the hots for Quanda and she keeps turnin' him down," Roxxi smirked, earning a glare from Aran and a low chuckle from Dogen.

"I'd rather face Gree on my own _unarmed_ than make a pass at _Captain_ Quanda Temple," Aran retorted.

"Oh, sure," Roxxi continued, still smirking. "That's why you ran after her to give her the news as soon as you saw her at the bank, right?"

"Shut it, Roxxi, or so help me-"

"So where are we goin'?" Parrot asked, trying to defuse the argument.

"I have a better question: How are we gonna get money?" Roxxi asked, taking up the change of subject.

"We got paid from the last job," Aran reminded her.

"Yeah, but what about _after_ that runs out?" she asked, leaning on the table. "The President issued a lock-down on all privateer accounts when he heard Gree was coming."

"Dammit," Aran growled, looking around the bar in thought. He then looked at Dogen and asked, "We still have that rock?"

"I have it here," the black man replied, pulling the pouch it was in from his belt and handed it to Aran.

"I thought we couldn't sell it," Parrot recalled as Aran shoved the thing in his pocket.

"Maybe we'll find someone who'll buy it," Aran mused with a shrug as he lifted the glass in front of him and took a drink.

"I'm surprised you didn't offer it to Quanda," Roxxi chuckled, but instead of a reprimand from Aran, the captain gave a frown of thought.

"Ya know," he hummed. "That's not a bad idea." He suddenly sat up, downed his drink and stood as he said, "Be right back."

The crew watched in surprise as he headed out the door until Roxxi tapped Parrot's arm and leaned back with, saying, "See? What'd I tell you? Any excuse to see her again. Don't _tell_ me he doesn't have the hots for her."

"You'll do well not to mention it again," Dogen warned gently, drawing her attention to him. "Their history is a touchy subject."

"Apparently," Parrot replied. "What happened between them, anyway?"

"It really isn't my place to say," Dogen answered, shaking his head slightly.

"Well I'm not askin' Dravyk," he reported. "Guess it's none of my business."

"I'll ask him," Roxxi shrugged. "I'm curious."

"Good luck," Dogen chuckled.

* * *

**A/N:** there it is. slow and short beginning, i guess. reviews?


	2. Attacked

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Attacked**_

Quanda sighed as she stepped into her ship, the gangplank closing behind her.

"I'm home, kids!" she called, heading toward the cockpit.

"'Bout time, Q!" a young man called, standing next to her as she passed the hall leading to the engine room and crew's quarters. "Where the hell ya been? Where's our money?"

"We didn't _get_ any money, Aladon," she sighed, walking past him and not even looking at him as he stared at her with wide eyes.

"What do you _mean_ we didn't get any money?" he snapped, hearing footsteps behind him but not turning.

"What's that, now?" a woman frowned behind him with another man next to her and Aladon whirled around to stare wide eyes at them.

"We didn't get paid!" he nearly shrieked, earning wide-eyed looks of disbelief from the other two.

"What the hell?" they snapped together and the three hurried from the hall and into the cockpit to crowd around their captain who was flipping switches on the console.

"What the hell are you doing?" the woman snarled. "You're getting ready to leave and we haven't even gotten our _money_ yet!"

"After all the trouble we went through to _kill_ that damn bastard and we don't get _paid_ for it?" the other man snarled.

"_No one's_ getting paid," Quanda replied, moving her hands away to swivel her chair around and face her crew. "Not me, not you, Aladon, not you, Cambria, not you, Jag. Not _any_ of the privateers are getting paid. The banks are closed."

"What the hell for?" Cambria, the woman, snapped.

"Gree's back," was all Quanda gave for a reply, and Cambria's eyes widened but the two men snickered.

"Gree's dead," Jag smirked, confidently. "Who fed you _that_ load of crap?"

Quanda sneered before muttering, "Aran Dravyk."

"Oh, and _he's_ so reliable?" Aladon smirked.

"_He_ heard it from Lana," Quanda shot back.

"Aw, shit," Jag muttered.

"What'll we do, Cap?" Cambria breathed, her eyes wide in fear and wonder.

"Well, we have two options," Quanda replied, sitting back in the seat. "Stay put, or run like hell."

"I suggest run like hell," Jag spoke up, instantly.

"No way!" Aladon shot back. "We stay here! Fight like hell and kill her _dead_ this time!"

"Are you suicidal?" Cambria shot back at him. "Gree's ship is huge and she's out for blood! She's got enough fire power to take out _all_ of us, and _you_ wanna face her head on? Insane!" She turned to Quanda and repeated, "This idiot's insane!"

"Better insane than a coward!" Aladon shot back at Cambria, making the other three shoot glares at him, but it was his captain who took action. Quanda shot to her feet and gripped the collar of Aladon's shirt to slam him against the wall of the cockpit, his frightened gaze meeting her burning one.

"Say that word again," she dared him through clenched teeth. "Say it. Give me _one_ reason to throw you off this ship and give you the opportunity to face Gree like you want."

Aladon swallowed but said nothing and Quanda took that as a silent plea that she _not_ do what she threatened.

"You say that word again, about _any_ of us, and there is no measure to how _fast_ I will take this little scenario further," she ground out. "Do you understand me, rookie?"

Aladon nodded vigorously and Quanda shoved away from him, letting him go as she towered over him to watch him slide to the floor from the sudden lack of support.

"Uh, Cap," Cambria called, making Quanda frown and turn to her to see the woman looking out the cockpit window. "We've got a visitor."

The captain frowned but looked out the window but her frown fell to a bored stare and she sighed, bowing her head in exasperation.

"We're launching after I take care of this," she ordered, turning to head toward the gangplank again as the three crowded around to look through the cockpit window.

"Who's that?" Aladon wondered, rubbing his neck where Quanda's knuckles had dug into throat.

"That, would be Captain Aran Dravyk of the _Rapier_," Jag smirked, crossing his arms over his chest and standing tall as Aladon looked up at him with wide eyes and Cambria gave a small smirk. "The only man to get under Captain's skin."

"She seemed more annoyed than anything else," Aladon nodded. "In _my_ experience, when something gets under her skin she's angry."

"Yeah, but Dravyk is the only one that's stayed under her skin so long that he only causes irritation," Cambria replied just as they saw their captain meet the other captain outside. "She's always liked him, even if she can't admit it. _That's_ why he only causes irritation."

* * *

_Outside..._

"What _now_, Dravyk?" Quanda snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "Come to tell me all the dead pirates have come back to life and are gonna kill us all?"

"Come to sell you something," Aran replied.

"No money," Quanda retorted. "Bank wouldn't give it to me, remember?"

"Don't want money," Aran shrugged and pulled a small sack from his pocket to toss it to her, which she caught without missing a beat.

She lifted a skeptical brow at him as she weighed the sack in her hand then frowned in wonder as she looked at it. Quanda opened it and her eyes shot wide as she slipped her hand into the sack and pulled out a red stone that covered her palm. She stared at it with wide eyes for a moment before turning to Aran, setting her jaw as she closed her fingers around the ruby.

"So you don't want money for this," she remembered. "What _do_ you want?"

"Information," he replied.

"That's a broad category," she retorted, tucking the stone back into the sack. "Any particular subject?"

"Gree's ship."

"Oh, like hell," Quanda retorted, tossing the bag back to him and he caught as she had before. "I'm not an idiot."

"Which is why I'm asking _you_."

"What do you need information on _that_ for, anyway? She's probably got another ship with an entirely different design anyway."

"And _you_ are the top ship expert in the galaxy."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Dravyk. I know the _real_ reason you're asking this of me, and of all people, _you_ shouldn't play games with me."

Aran nodded and looked to the bag in his hand as he strolled closer to her and took one of her hands as she frowned at him but he only looked to her hand as he pressed the bag into it.

"For your time," he murmured, letting her hand go before turning to walk away.

Quanda stared at the bag then looked to Aran's back as he still walked away. Sighing at her weakness and rolling her eyes she called, "Wait."

Aran stopped and turned back as she marched toward him.

"If I know Gree, she'll have an M-class freighter," she murmured. "She'll have every kind of weapon you can think of. If you're planning on an attack-"

"I'm not planning an attack," Aran cut in. "I'm planning a heist. And I need _you_ with me on this."

Quanda burst into hysterical laughter as Aran gave her a blank stare. He knew that was coming, he wasn't sure why he'd expected any different, but he had to at least _ask_.

"That's the _stupidest_ thing I've ever heard!" she laughed as Aran crossed his arms over his chest. "You wanna try and _steal_ from the woman who's trying to _kill_ us all! You're more insane than I thought, Dravyk!"

"I'd appreciate _not_ being laughed at, Quanda," Aran retorted.

"You've _gotta_ be joking," she smirked, calming her laughter.

"I've never been more serious," he replied. "The way I see it, we can run, but she'll eventually find us. Or, we can meet her head on and take her down."

"Well, good luck with that," she retorted, starting toward her ship again as she tossed the bag up then caught it again. "Thanks for the pay off. I'll sell it for a pretty penny."

"I need you, Quanda!" Aran called when she turned and walked away a few paces. She stopped, but didn't turn to him. "She'll be more likely to trust _you_ than me."

"Oh, and like _my_ betrayal wasn't any worse than _yours_?" Quanda snapped, turning to face him again. "She won't trust me. I was her first mate and I showed you the way in to take her down the _first_ time. I'm not about to make that mistake again."

"Fine," Aran nodded in understanding. "Just give me the schematics on the ship and I'll-"

"No, Aran," she cut in, making him frown at her in wonder. "You're not getting me to help you, no matter what you do, or how you try to bribe me. I learned my lesson. I'm leaving here, and you should too."

With that she turned to head back to her ship, but Aran frowned at the sky when he heard a slight hum behind him. He turned around as Quanda only continued toward her ship, and his eyes widened in realization before he whirled back to face Quanda. He ran at her and talked her to the ground, making her shout in surprise, the high-pitched hum even louder as it whizzed over their heads.

"Dravyk-?"

She was cut off when an explosion went off in front of her, sending debris launching all around them as Aran covered her head with his arms when she gave a small scream. Rumbling from the explosion continued for what seemed like ages before the debris stopped flying and they both groaned in pain as they stood up, dusting themselves off and looked to Quanda's ship…or what was left of it.

"No," Quanda breathed, shaking her head in disbelief as her eyes widened as well. Flames flickered from the wreckage of her ship, pieces of metal falling off in places and she fell to her knees again, still staring at the scene before she screamed, "_No_!"

"Quanda, we have to go!" Aran called, hearing more humming as he moved to grip her arm but she didn't hear him as she placed her hands on her head.

"My _crew_!" she sobbed. "They didn't deserve to-!"

"Quanda! We have to go!" Aran snapped, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet, but she instantly began struggling.

"Let me go!" she screamed, but he pulled her away just as another explosion went up next to the wreckage of her ship and he dragged her toward his ship where it still sat in the huge hangar. "Let me die here!"

"Don't be dramatic!" Aran snapped, still gripping her arm. "And you said _I_ was insane! What's your _death_ gonna do for us?"

"Let me _go_, dammit!" Quanda screamed, pulling against his grip, but he held her fast as more explosions sounded.

"'Bout time you showed up!" Roxxi shouted from the gangplank. "As you can see, we're under attack-What is _she_ doing here?"

"Get inside and get us in space!" Aran ordered, dragging Quanda up the gangplank, still kicking and screaming.

"It's Gree!" Parrot called, running toward the three, his eyes widening in shock when he saw Quanda.

Aran shoved the other captain into Parrot and ordered, "Don't let her make a suicide run off the ship, please?"

"Bastard!" Quanda snarled at Aran, trying to charge him but Roxxi ran toward them to help Parrot hold her back as Aran marched toward the cockpit. "You should've _left_ me there!"

"Quit your whining!" Aran shot back, not stopping. "I saved your life!"

"You signed my _death_ warrant!" Quanda shot back, pulling herself free from Roxxi and Parrot to march after him as he sat in the pilot's seat. A shock wave from an explosion made the ship shake, but no damage was done. Quanda lost her balance for a moment but stepped in front of the entrance to the cockpit, only to be blocked by a familiar face. "Move out of the way, Dogen!"

"Save this fight for Gree, Miss Temple," he advised, and that silenced her, but she glared at the man in front of her as the ship was started and lifted into the air.

"I could use a little _help_!" Aran shouted, and Roxxi shot past the two and into the cockpit.

Each explosion rocked the ship violently as the _Rapier_ lifted into the air and headed toward the sky, and once they broke atmosphere, they evened out, Aran and Roxxi instantly checking the sensors for the ship they knew was out there.

"Anything?" Aran asked his first mate, and she shook her head.

"Nothing," Roxxi replied, not looking away from the console.

"Alright," he nodded, turning in his chair and heading toward Dogen and Quanda. "Stay on it, Rox."

"Yes, Sir," she replied as Aran gripped Quanda's arm and dragged her down the hall.

"What the hell, Dravyk?" she snapped, but gave a grunt as she was slammed against the wall and pinned between it and Aran's body as his green-hazel gaze bored into hers.

"I save your life back there and _this_ is how you thank me?" he hissed. "I don't know what the hell kind of twisted world you're living in, but I am _not_ letting you make a suicidal attempt to somehow clear your conscience because your crew died today, do you understand me?"

"I'm not one of your crew, Dravyk!" Quanda snapped. "You don't order me around!"

Aran stared at her for a moment before shoving away from her, and she slumped against the wall, but remained standing.

"Fine," he ground out in a low tone. "You wanna kill yourself, go ahead. But what good will it do your crew now? I'm sorry about your ship and your crew, but your own death is no way to avenge _theirs_. You _know_ who's responsible for it, so _do_ something about it."

He started down the hall toward the cockpit again as Quanda caught her breath, staring at the wall in front of her then looking at Aran as he still walked away. She swallowed and stood tall to step into the center of the hallway.

"Aran?" she called, making him stop, but he didn't turn as Dogen stood at the end, watching the scene. "Tell me about the caper."

* * *

**A/N:** oh, things are gonna get good, aren't they?


	3. Plans

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Plans**_

"The M-class freighter is a predator," Quanda explained to Aran as they leaned over a holo-table with the schematics of the ship she was referring to floating between them, both leaning on the table's edge. "Standard issue comes with everything you need to invade a half a planet if you wanted to."

"You always _did_ exaggerate from time to time," Aran muttered, making Quanda glare at him from across the table.

"Alright then," she replied irritably, pressing a button on the table to turn the image they were looking at for an aerial view. "This is how it _is_."

She pressed another button to highlight certain parts of the ship's schematics as she described them.

"To the starboard and port sides are twelve cannons each. There're cannons fore and aft…_huge_ ones. They'd blow nice little air holes into the _Rapier_. Any of those cannons would. Torpedoes galore, too."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from Gree," Aran thought aloud, examining the schematics in all seriousness.

"I'm really surprised she hasn't found us yet," Quanda admitted, standing tall and crossing her arms over her chest. "The sensors and technological aspects of that kind of ship are top notch. Super sensitive and accurate."

"Maybe she _has_ found us," he replied, not taking his eyes from the plans in front of him.

"Then why hasn't she attacked?" she wondered, walking around the table to stand next to him.

"She's probably biding her time," Aran theorized, pressing a button to rotate the image in front of him as Quanda leaned back on the table. "Waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike."

"So…" she hummed, lowering her arms to lean then on the table and back a little more, drawing Aran's attention to her as she noticed, "You haven't _completely_ forgotten what she's like, huh?"

"Of course not," he replied matter-of-factly, standing tall as he faced her. "Why?"

"You still love her?" she blurted, making him give her a slight frown.

"What's it to _you_?" Aran retorted and she gave a weak smirk.

"Just a question, Dravyk," she shrugged, shoving off the table to turn around and lean forward on it. "No need to get so defensive." They were both silent for a moment before she looked to the plans and reported, "Anything of value is gonna be stored here…" She pointed to a spot in the image in front of them, drawing Aran's attention back to it. "This is a built in Strong Safe. Every M-class has one. Because the ships are used for high scale raids, the safe is huge for any _kind_ of valuables."

"How do we get into it?" Aran asked.

"_We_ don't," Quanda corrected. "It's a DNA, retina and fingerprint lock you have to open. Gree is the only one who can get in."

"Alright," he sighed in thought. "Then _we_ get _her_ to open it for us."

"Oh, like _that's_ gonna happen," Quanda scoffed. "I can see it now. The both of us march up to her, hold a gun each to her head and say, 'Open the safe or we blow your head off!' Next thing you know, there're _four_ guns on the two of us and _our_ heads are the ones that get blown off by her _and_ her crew. Nice plan, Aran."

"Well then, smart ass, what's _your_ plan?" he shot back, glaring at her and she frowned at him then huffed.

"Don't ask _me_," she muttered. "I'm only here to point out the _dumb_ ideas."

Aran sighed, looking to the schematics again in thought before turning back to her, asking, "Is there a lock on the _inside_?"

"Of the safe? No," she replied, frowning up at him. "Why?"

"If you can sneak in the next time she goes in there for whatever reason and stay there until she leaves, you can let us in through the inside," Aran planned. "It's able to open from the inside, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Only one problem: Coms won't work in there. I won't be able to call you when I'm in."

"You're not going in alone," Aran explained, making her frown at him again. "We're on our way to pick up a friend of mine who's gonna help us out with this. Gree never met him. He'll go in with you and be your back-up. Once you get inside, he'll contact me and we'll make our move."

"Wait a minute, _I've_ never met this guy either," Quanda replied. "How am I supposed to work with someone I've never met?"

"Trust me, you'll love him," he assured pressing one last button on the table to shut it off, making the schematics disappear. "We'll discuss the rest of this when we get there and he can be part of the conversation."

"Aran," she called, before he had a chance to walk away and he turned to her with a slight frown. "You know I'm gonna kill her, right?"

Aran's frown deepened, but she only continued.

"A life for a life," she explained. "It's that simple. She killed my crew, destroyed my ship, and after we steal everything she holds dear from her, I'm killing her. She's stolen too much from me already."

"Stolen too much?" he echoed, still frowning at her in confusion. "What does _that_ mean?"

Quanda's blue eyes met his hazel-greens for a moment before she quickly glanced away and turned at the same time to head out of the room.

"Nothing," she called back, heading out the door. "It doesn't mean a damn thing."

She nearly shoved past Parrot as he hurried through the door, Aran still frowning at her as she walked away and almost not hearing Parrot when he gave a report on their location.

"We're nearing Kalos now, Captain," he reported, glancing after Quanda but ignoring her rudeness. "We'll be there in an hour or so."

Aran only nodded, frowning in though as he stared ahead for a moment before actually responding, "Thanks. When we get there, put us in orbit and have Roxxi hail Jasper for me so I can talk to him."

"You think he's gonna be ok with this?" Parrot wondered in concern. "You guys didn't exactly part on peaceful terms last time we stayed here."

"It's worth a try," Aran shrugged as they headed toward the door. "Quanda's gonna need someone there to help her out, and it needs to be a face that Gree doesn't know."

"You think all this is gonna work, Captain?" Parrot hoped, still walking with him.

"It better," Aran admitted, making a turn down the hall and leaving a surprised Parrot in his wake.

* * *

_In Orbit Above Kalos..._

"_Wait a minute…hold on_," a voice from the console spoke as Aran sat in the pilot's seat of the _Rapier_. "_Gree is still alive, and you wanna __steal__ from her?_"

"Not just steal, Jasper," Aran replied. "I plan to kill her…_really_ kill her, this time."

"_And you want __me__ to help you with this suicide mission?_" Jasper retorted.

"You'll be helping out a friend of mine," Aran explained. "Gree doesn't know you, so it'll be easy for you to get in as back up for her."

"_Her?_" Jasper echoed, and Aran could hear the question he was about to ask before he asked it. "_She cute?_"

"It's Quanda," Aran replied.

"_The__ Quanda?_" Jasper nearly shouted. "_Quanda Temple, Gree's first mate? __That__ Quanda?_"

"In the flesh."

Aran jumped as Quanda smirked, leaning on his shoulder to lean over the console.

"You must be Jasper," she guessed. "Can't wait to meet you in person and actually see your face. Going by your voice you sound like a handsome devil."

"_And __you__ sound like a fox_," Jasper replied, and they could hear a smirk in his tone.

"You have no idea," Quanda smirked back.

"Are you in or not, Jasper?" Aran almost snapped, making Quanda frown at him in confusion, but she said nothing.

"_Well, I'll need to think on it a bit_," Jasper replied, thoughtfully. "_Why don't you all come down for a bit so you can tell me your plans?_"

"All of us, huh?" Aran echoed, just as thoughtfully.

"_Don't you trust me, Aran?_" Jasper wondered, jokingly.

"Not for an instant," Aran replied, seemingly serious but he gave a slight smirk. "But I guess it can't be helped. Be down there in a bit."

"_Gonna be a blast seein' __your__ pretty face again, Dravyk_," Jasper replied.

"Shut it, Rawlings," Aran shot back, and leaned over to press the button to shut off the com as Quanda gave a chuckle, standing tall next to him as he frowned up at her. "What?"

"You were right," she shrugged. "I like him already."

* * *

**A/N:** reviews?


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